


Inspired By OQ

by Celia25



Category: Once Upon a Time (TV)
Genre: F/M, Inspired by Art, Inspired by OQ
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-09-17
Updated: 2018-09-19
Packaged: 2019-07-13 07:24:24
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 9,477
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16013102
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Celia25/pseuds/Celia25
Summary: My entries for Inspired By OQ.





	1. The Stranger

**Author's Note:**

> Special thanks to the amazing @BabyLawyerOQ for beta reading all my entries for IBOQ. Thank you very much, dear!

This story is inspired by a manip by amazing @angry_fish. 

* * *

 

A masquerade ball.

The perfect chance for anonymity; just what Regina needs to have some distraction without anyone noticing she is even there. Nobody to criticize her for engaging in a social event after her recent breakup. A chance to talk to people that won’t remind her of her ex-husband (well, her husband, technically) and their failure.

At first, she disregarded the idea, but Emma had insisted day after day that this was exactly what she needed, and after some time thinking about it and about the ins and outs of her attendance, she decided Emma was right. What could she lose? She has already lost all that mattered to her.

She is going through a breakup with her husband and the father of her son. It’s been three months since he moved away, they barely speak on the phone, just some texts to arrange the logistics, and they see each other when he comes to pick the boy up to spend some time with him. He doesn’t take Henry for the weekend; he is still a baby, and her husband hasn’t even insisted on it. Henry just turned one, and he needs his routine and his mom every night.

She doesn’t understand yet, how she ended up in this situation. She loves her husband. She still does, even after the tough months that came before their breakup.

It began some months ago with a stupid argument that they thought would pass. Next, it was a bigger one, where each of them hurt the other one deeply, but still, neither of them apologized or tried to talk about it, again, hiding the dirt under the rug. It began happening more often than not, and at some point, it seemed that fights, disagreement and painful words were the only way they related to each other.

So, after some months living in a battlefield, they decided to end things, or, at least, try to spend some time on their own thinking the time apart would help them to collect themselves and retake their marriage, but it hasn’t worked out that way.

He doesn’t want anything with her, at least it seems so. He doesn’t make a move, and each time she has tried to find an opportunity to talk he shuts her down. When he talks to her, it’s only about their son. She feels like she doesn’t exist, and that the only role she can have in his eyes is the one of Henry’s mother. Not his wife; not the woman he loved.

So, why not attend this ball?

Emma has two invitations for the Blanchard Foundation Annual Masquerade Ball, and instead of taking Graham or Neal, she has convinced Regina to go with her and be part of a larger group. Emma has arranged a nice table for eight people, all Emma’s friends, and that’s a good thing for Regina since none of them will remind her of her husband and their breakup. She’ll dress nicely, wear a mask, a sexy one, and nobody would ever know she was there if she doesn’t want them to.

Regina has been doubtful because attending a ball without a dance partner was somehow absurd, but Emma convinced her. She told her there were many people attending on their own or in larger groups, and not with a partner. She even said it was damn time to begin going out on her own and just accept that she no longer had a husband.

And, that is what convinces Regina. She knows she needs to acknowledge her new reality, accept it and learn to live with it, and this might be the first step. During the last months, she has been waiting for her husband to come back, to make a move, and while waiting she lost track of herself, and it surprises her to be excited about getting ready for a night out. It had been a long time since the last time she wore a fancy evening dress, high heels and for the first time in months, she wants to take some time for herself to apply some makeup, do her hair. She wants to feel sexy and beautiful, and she is happy to feel this way.

Emma jokes and tells Regina that maybe she’ll get lucky and find someone there for a quick fuck with her mask on. Nobody would know; nobody would judge her. Maybe that’s what she needs.

Regina just laughs and rolls her eyes at Emma’s comments. If she didn’t know her the way she does, she would be mortified. And she has to admit that Emma makes her laugh even in the complicated moments she’s going through.

So, the masquerade ball on Saturday night it is!

* * *

 

Emma’s table at the ball is the most amusing of all.

The eight people that share the table are Emma’s friends, and Regina hadn’t known any of them until she arrived. But these people have done their best to make Regina feel welcome and comfortable.

Ruby Lucas and her stories about every affair she’s had are hilarious; Kathryn Nolan just got out of a toxic relationship and laughs at herself remembering all the signs that shouted her relationship was leading nowhere, and that now she clearly sees, but back then she missed; Jeff Hatter, a recent widower with a little girl, and an example of a man trying to look after himself to be sure he can look after his daughter; Leroy Grump a man that drinks too much, but even in his drunk state makes all of them laugh at his failed attempts to be a killjoy and keep complaining every chance he gets; August Booth, a handsome man unable to find success in his hobby as an author, and that has to work in a job that gives him zero satisfaction; Mulan Chang a nice and independent woman that takes no shit and makes them laugh each time she tells them how she manages to keep away people that behave off limits.

They all have a good time. Regina thinks she really likes these people and that it was a good idea to have finally been able to beat herself, gather her courage, leave her insecurities aside, and just enjoy the night.

The music is nice, and the orchestra plays a varied repertoire that gives Regina the chance to dance with some of Emma’s friends. And actually who wouldn’t want to dance with the most exquisite woman of the night?

And, in fact, Regina shines in a sexy and glamorous strapless gray night dress that shows the perfection that is her body. Her hair nicely arranged in a bun leaves the elegance of her neck at plain sight. The mask she wears, silver-plated, covers her face and only shows her big eyes and provocative lips painted in a soft tone, which gives her a touch of mystery and seduction at the same time.

She knows she is drawing the attention of more than one that night, and she is enjoying it ...maybe too much. So, after dancing with those at her table, she decides to mingle with other people and heads to the opposite side of the ballroom. She goes to the bar and is waiting for another glass of champagne, checking out her surroundings and smiling at some men that glance at her.

And as she looks at one side, and then at the other, drinking delicately from her glass, she sees a man approaching her. He’s from an average size and has a muscular complexion. He wears a dark tuxedo and has a black mask over his face which leaves exposed his stubble. She can’t even see his eyes clearly. He doesn’t say a word and only extends his hand in a way that shows his intentions to invite her to dance.

She takes his hand without hesitation, and as soon as they arrive at the dance floor she feels how he places one hand on her tiny waist, and with the other one grabs her hand.

They begin dancing to the slow rhythm of the music. Regina closes her eyes from time to time to feel the music and the warmth of this stranger. It’s so easy to pretend she is in the arms of the man she just lost.

She feels how he brings her closer, presses her tightly to his body and she doesn’t complain, she doesn’t mind at all, she even enjoys the closeness. She gets carried away, places her head on his shoulder and surrounds his neck with her hands. It feels so good just to imagine for some minutes that she’s with him again.

And what harm does pretending she is dancing with her husband do? She knows that when the song ends the spell will be broken, and that’s the reason why she continues dancing with him through the second song.

They don’t say a word. It seems that for him this is also something special because he continues holding her tightly. At some point, they gaze at each other’s eyes and it’s the first time she realizes his eyes are a deep blue, and she becomes aware, as well, that this is the first time he actually takes a look at her eyes.

They keep dancing; now it’s the third song they dance without saying a word, and by this time they are so close that she can feel his breath on her ear. She closes her eyes to continue imagining she is with him, with her husband, and it’s incredible how her mind begins tricking her because she can almost smell him. She can sense the scent of the man she lost, and she doesn’t dare to open her eyes because she knows that as soon as reality hits her, this dream will be over and she will just be dancing with a stranger in a masquerade ball.

She has the need to change her head to his other side, and when she does so, he catches his gaze again. But this time, she finds that he is staring at her with attention and even closing his eyes a little in an unmistakable expression of remembrance.

The music continues, he’s holding her tightly, his hand caresses her back, and their bodies are pressed together. Their faces are so close that their noses are almost touching, and she can swear that for a fraction of a second she catches him staring at her lips.

This has felt so good, so good that she might have given this man a wrong impression of what she wants. And, honestly, what does she even want? She needs to continue in his arms, believing for some more minutes that she is with someone else. She desires to continue feeling this man’s touch, because as unbelievable as it may sound she finds his touch familiar. Maybe it’s because they’ve been holding each other for four songs, at least something in between 20 and 25 minutes.

But in the middle of the fourth song, something changes. He takes one of her hands to spin her, he catches her off guard but she responds and as she spins, she giggles, letting escape that particular giggle, a giggle that can give her away among hundreds of people.

When she returns to his arms, she finds he is looking at her differently, as if he knew her. She feels he is holding her tightly and bringing her closer to him, their faces inches apart, and she doesn’t know how but the next thing she feels are his lips on hers.

This move surprises her, and she doesn’t answer the kiss. Suddenly, she begins feeling something so familiar. She wonders if it is her imagination because the kiss feels so natural; she can even anticipate what he’ll do next.

The way this stranger kisses her is so warm, so tender, and with so much emotion, that it reminds her of her husband, of how he kissed her, how his tongue felt against hers, how his hands touched her neck and his thumbs, her cheek …this is so familiar that she needs to do something. She refuses to let her mind trick her like this.

She takes slowly her hands to the back of his head and unties the little bow that keeps his mask on. When the mask falls from his face and she looks for the first time at this stranger, she almost faints.

“Robin?” she asks blushing. She feels embarrassed because she just let him know how she got carried away, as she danced with a complete stranger.

She can’t look at him in the eyes. She doesn’t want to face him, so she just turns around to walk away, but before she steps forward, he grabs her wrist.

“Come here, Regina. Dance with me. Don’t walk away from me again,” he says.

And as they continue dancing, this time without their masks on she asks him, “How did you know it was me? Because when we kissed me you already knew, didn’t you?”

“Your giggle. I would recognize it anywhere. And what gave me away?”

He asks her, gazing at her as both move slowly, holding each other. “Your scent and …” answers Regina, but she pauses before adding “... hmm ...the way you kissed me.”

“So, you didn’t know it was me when we kissed.”

“Robin ....” and she won’t answer that question, so she just kisses him again.

And as they continue dancing, alternating kisses, _I’m sorries_ , _I love yous_ and _I’ve missed yous_ she thinks she’ll need to thank Emma later.

* * *

 

_**THE END** _

__


	2. Unconditional Love

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> People react in different ways to a one-sided love and for Robin and Regina is the same. However, they must face the consequences of their choices and maybe will find a chance in the most unexpected way.  
> 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Written for Day 2 of Inspired By OQ.
> 
> This story is inspired by a manip by @CarolinaMR9
> 
> Thanks to my wonderful beta @BabyLawyerOQ!

_ Present … _

He can’t hide his smile as he walks his little girl, now a grown-up woman, down the aisle, to give her away in marriage to a man that has proven his unconditional love for her.

As he walks with her by his arm, he looks to one side; then, to the other, smiling at the guests with a wide smile and eyes clouded with tears of happiness.

As a father, Henry Mills has always wished the best for his daughter and has been concerned about the man she would choose to marry one day.  He hoped she would choose wisely, putting love on top of other things. Passion, lust, sex, money, success …he had known well those were temporary things, and at some point might not be there anymore, so he had always wished that when the time would come (if it came), Regina would pick the right man as her partner in life. Someone that would love her as she deserved and with whom she could have a happy enduring marriage, and not one like his own, loveless and unhappy.  

However, he would never have guessed the man destined to marry his only child had been always by her side, as her best friend.

.............

She never thought she'd have this, let alone after the choices she made not so long ago. She still can’t believe things sorted out the way they did and, as she walks by her father’s side, she has to pinch her own arm to be sure this is not a dream.

She never thought, that her father would be the one walking her down the aisle, despite the circumstances behind all this, but he has always been there for her ...and this day is the most palpable proof that he will always be, no matter what.

Not even in her dreams, had she thought  _ he _ would be the one offering a way out of a complicated situation, of an indiscretion that has brought her a permanent consequence.

And, she never imagined that her feelings had been reciprocated all that time by the very same man that waits for her at the end of the aisle to become his husband: her best friend.

Regina is walking down the aisle, smiling at  _ him _ , happy and with hope about their future, regardless of the circumstances that made them face their feelings a month ago.

............

Robin looks at her walking slowly down the aisle and holding her father’s arm tightly. She’s dressed in white, as the bride should be, and with soft makeup, that enhances her natural beauty. Her dark hair is loose and hangs over one of her sides in natural waves, and a delicate tiara that highlights on her head gives her a touch of innocence and freshness that makes her look radiant. It is a dream he’s had plenty of times, and he can’t believe that this day, finally, it becomes true.

He watches her approaching him, smiling sweetly, and when their gazes finally find each other they can’t take their eyes away. He waits for her while their eyes are locked and their smiles are in perfect sync.

For years he was the man secretly in love with his best friend, the confidant of her messy love life, and the keeper of her most guarded secrets. That had been him, until the day he found the chance he’d been waiting for (since forever) in the most unusual way, and he would be surprised about the extent of his love for her.

* * *

_ One month earlier... _

“You’re pregnant, Regina! Shit! Are you sure?” asks Robin, trying to hide his consternation.

“I wish I wasn’t, but yeah ...six weeks. Confirmed by a doctor and not only by this,” Regina answers, lifting the pregnancy test she took the day before with the unmistakable plus sign that first confirmed her suspicions.

“Have you told him yet?”

“There’s nothing to tell him, Robin. We both have been very clear. Neither of us wanted feelings involved, least of all a child. Graham is not leaving his girlfriend, not for me, anyway, and I don’t want that either. Graham and I were a mistake since day one, and you know it.” She pauses, looks at him, swallows hard as if trying to gather some courage and adds  “You ...you of all people know I haven't been in a good place lately.”

They both gaze into the other one’s eyes. They don’t even need to know what the other is thinking. He knows Regina is embarrassed; she knows he’s concerned and disappointed, yet they don’t speak their thoughts.

And even though he is dying to ask her why she was so careless, having unprotected sex with a random guy, he knows better and keeps his mouth shut because they don’t judge, they just support the other one, no matter how stupid their choices can be. That’s the way it has been for years. That’s the way they built their friendship and trust, and it didn’t matter that sometimes one of them has been hurt by the choices of the other.

And, well, every person reacts in a different way to frustration, and a secret love towards their best friend.

Regina’s way to deal with that had been to seek comfort and distraction in nightclubs, flirting and sex. She decided to live without limits trying to forget what she thought was a one-sided love. And who can blame her? Some people try getting over a broken heart through alcohol or running away, but neither of those was an option for her. She thought fun and someone in her bed that would make her feel something different, something merely physical, would be the answer. How wrong she’d been!

Robin, meanwhile, had decided to be by her side in any capacity she would allow him to, and for some months he had been the confidant of her nocturnal whereabouts. He had listened, nodded his head, kept his feelings deep inside him until he was on his own and drunk his ass off each night he had to hear about her encounters.

Regina must admit that, at first, it felt good. The opportunity to enjoy something purely physical, with no ties of any type, no feelings involved and no expectations to be fulfilled for some time made her think she was beginning to move on.

She had some basic rules, though. A married man was out of the question. Then, she was picky choosing a partner for the night; if she was going to engage in something merely physical, she needed to feel physically attracted, so just at first sight she discarded those who weren’t her type. Next, no one she knew; she wanted to experience this with absolute strangers that she might not see again. And, lastly, no unprotected sex by any means.

Graham had been the third man with whom she’d shared more than a drink and a nice chat since her fuck spree began. The sex had been great, both were on the same page. She was trying to get over her best friend; Graham was trying to seek what he hasn't been able to find for a while with his girlfriend; neither of them had any feelings involved, nor expected nothing more than a good fuck. That had been it.

But, after a while, it didn’t feel good; instead, she felt guilt, remorse, shame, and even couldn’t look  Robin in the eyes. It felt as if she were cheating on him. Hence, things had gotten worse. Not only did she have to deal with being in love with her best friend, but she also had to struggle with feelings of self-loathing.

So, when she realized this wasn’t the best way to deal with a one-sided love ...she’d found out she was pregnant. Her life has become a complete mess!

“Regina, you can’t just decide to keep this from this man. It’s not your choice. Let him be the one who decides if he wants to be in his child’s life or not,” says Robin, and after finishing talking he can’t believe he just said that. It’s nothing but the truth, he feels it’s not fair to keep this from anyone, and it doesn’t matter if this man is the fuck buddy of the woman he’s madly in love with.

“He already made a choice,” answers Regina.

“So you’ve told him, haven’t you?” insists Robin, because he doesn’t understand yet how Graham could have made any choice if he’s unaware of this situation.

“Robin ...please, don’t make this harder than it already is!” She looks at him, and finds that expression on his face, one of doubt and knows she needs to tell him some missing details. “Oh, okay, you won’t stop asking, anyway ...uhm …I was careful, but shit happens ... you understand? ...uhm ...after the condom broke he clearly said he didn’t want to know shit about any ‘inconveniences’. He used that exact word. We even haven’t talked since that day ...and it’s been weeks. He hasn’t contacted me to ask if there are any news, either. So, I guess he did make his choice.”

Robin blushes at Regina’s confession. They talk almost about everything, but nothing so explicit. He knows Regina is now in a dark place. He doesn’t know what her reasons are, but he’s trying to pull her out of the hole ...yet, it seems she hit bottom.

“Oh ...I get it, but maybe he changes his mind when he knows he is going to be a father,” adds Robin trying to change her mind, as painful as it is to be the one that pushes her towards someone else’s arms.

“I don’t want his pity, Robin.”

“And what are you going to do? Are you going to have the baby? Are you going to keep it?” continues asking Robin trying to figure out if Regina has made up her mind about her situation.

“Well, I need to think about it. My world just went upside down in the last 24 hours. So, I think I deserve some time to think about it.”

She looks overwhelmed, and her eyes denote confusion. She certainly needs time, but Robin knows she needs something else.

“Regina, I want you to know that you’re not alone. You have me. You always had, and now is no different. Whatever you decide, I’m here for you. We’ll get over this.”

She listens to each of his words with attention, and she smiles when she hears him say  _ we _ . It sounds as if they were together in this, and she can't help but think on how fucked is all this. Her eyes show gratitude and relief when he finishes talking, and she takes one of his hands in hers and gives him a little squeeze “Thanks, Robin. I don’t know what I would do without you.”

“Come here, Regina.” She takes two steps to where he is and when he takes her in his arms and embraces her tightly they forget, for some minutes, the circumstances of their closeness.

..............

Robin can’t sleep.

It has been a week of sleepless nights since Regina broke the news about her pregnancy, and he still feels anxious about it.

Each night when he goes to bed, sleep doesn't come easily. He moves from one side of his bed to the other, he goes to the kitchen for a glass of water, he tries to watch something on Netflix, and, if it’s not that late, he calls her.

And, it appears he’s not the only one with sleeping problems because when he calls her, she’s awake and they chat for a while.

They talk about how she feels; how she’s holding up; if she already told someone else about her pregnancy, and he finds out she hasn’t yet. He asks her when her next doctor’s appointment is and tells her he wants to go with her. He wants to know if she has any cravings, and adds he’d love to bring whatever she wants regardless of the time it’d be.

Each time they hang up the phone they feel they can’t be more enamored with the other one and both think how fucked up this situation is.

She had called that morning and had said she wanted to talk to him first about what she’d decided. They’d met and oh! she looked more beautiful than ever, with a special glow that possibly the pregnancy brought her. She’d told him she would keep her baby, that she had been thinking about Robin’s words, a week ago, and had contacted Graham, and well, he’d made his choice: he didn’t want any child.  So, she had also made hers: she would raise her child by herself, just as many women do.

After receiving that news from Regina, Robin still can’t sleep for the eighth night in a row.

But this time his sleepless night is for a different reason. He loves her, has loved her secretly for years, and has been afraid of opening up. He realizes that maybe this baby is giving him a chance to prove her how far is he willing to go in the name of love.

................

“Are you out of your mind, Robin? Why would a man in your position marry a woman who is pregnant with another man’s child? You could have any woman you want, with no baggage ... and …uhm …I certainly don’t want a marriage out of pity.”

That had been her reaction after Robin’s  _ Regina, marry me …I ...I … _  Robin had been determined to let Regina know about his feelings, but before he could open up, she had interrupted him.

He had already considered this option when she first told him about her situation and disregarded it when he thought the baby’s father would be somehow in Regina’s life. Though, after knowing this Graham wouldn’t be in the picture, Robin thought of this as an opportunity to be for Regina and her baby.

Robin is aware that Regina would react with surprise at his proposal. He understands something like this is completely unexpected, and for Regina, it might appear it comes out of nowhere. They aren’t in a relationship in which a proposal would have been the next step for them, so, honestly, he was expecting a refusal. Yet, even being prepared for that, hearing her voice that she thinks he is doing it because of pity,  hurt more than he had believed.

“Regina, please, let me explain. I ...I had thought about this, actually since before any of this happened. This proposal might be an unconventional one, but certainly not one because of sympathy.  I hope you can reconsider this. I ...I...”

“Robin, I can’t accept this. Are you insane? I’m going to pretend this conversation never happened.”

Robin insists. It had been so difficult for him to finally resolve to talk to Regina about his true feelings, that now that he has begun, no one is stopping him, not even Regina.

“Regina, please, can you stop interrupting me. This is not what you think, please, listen to me. I ...I have wanted to talk to you for a while. I ...I love you, Regina.”

“I love you too, Robin, but marriage? Seriously?”

“Shit, Regina! You’re not following me… I’m trying to say that I love you …that I am in love with you. And I’m aware that clearly you don’t feel the same way towards me, but I’m sure we can make this work. It will be good for the baby to have its mother and, well, a father figure. We know each other, have known for years ... and take the sex out of the equation because this is not about that...”

Regina is in shock. She listens open-mouthed, but after Robin’s  _ I’m in love with you _ his next words have been like a background sound, and she hasn’t been able to decipher any of his words. Her mind is elsewhere. She is trying to figure out how could she have been so mistaken because not once had she thought that Robin might feel the same as she does. She tries to look in her most buried memories for any sign that could have given away Robin’s genuine feelings, but she finds none.

Her thoughts are interrupted by a voice “Regina, are you listening to me?”

“Did you just say that you are in love with me?” asks Regina surprised at Robin’s revelation and seeking any kind of confirmation that she hasn’t misunderstood his words.

“Yes. I ...I am. Being honest, I have been for a long time. And I know what you feel for me is different. I’m aware of that, but I don’t want you to face this on your own. I want to be with you and the baby.”

“Oh my God! I ...I’ve fucked up everything!” exclaims Regina taking both hands to her face, as she covers her mouth and eyes with them.

“What do you mean? I don’t care about not being the biological father of your baby. If there’s someone so stupid that doesn’t want to be part of this … well, it’s their loss.”

“I mean … it’s not only ... Oh, God! I just can’t believe  … No. Not right now!” responds Regina. Her lack of coherence makes Robin ask himself if maybe it was a mistake to share his feelings in such an abrupt way. He never gets to answer that question, though, because Regina continues talking.

“I ...I  need to tell you something, also  ….I …I’m in love with you too, Robin. It’s been that way for some time, and thinking you didn’t love me that way made me go through a complicated and wrong path for months, and, well, here I am ...fucked.”

“Oh ….shit!.”

For the look in their eyes, it’s obvious neither of them expected to hear what the other one just revealed. For each of them knowing the truth brings different emotions, and Regina is the one that voices hers first.

“Look, Robin, I …I …This ...” she takes her hands to her stomach  “... wasn’t supposed to happen. I didn’t look for it ...it just occurred, but I have to face this. Knowing you feel the same as I do ...wow,  under other circumstances this would have been the happiest day of my life, but in this situation, it makes everything more difficult for me because it makes me realize what I lost. I can’t marry you.”

“Why, Regina? We already lost time, we have been in each other’s lives for years and never acted on our feelings, don’t you think it’s time?”

“Because this child changes everything, Robin. Marriage is complicated enough for two people, let alone in our case when we will be practically stepping into marriage without any time for exploring us in a different relationship than friends. And a child in some months will complicate things. If parenthood is difficult when the baby is ours, imagine how it would be when the child is not? Don’t you think the first sleepless night with the baby crying you’ll throw back in my face that it’s not your child? The first tantrum, school, medical expenses, education ...we have a lifetime with a baby ...I want this baby. I love it because it’s mine …but, I can’t ask the same for you.”

“Shit, Regina, for a woman that just confessed being in love with me for some time, how little do you think of me. If by now you don’t know how I care about this baby, I have nothing to do here.”

.......................

Regina talks to her father that same day. Even though things didn’t end well with Robin that morning, she can’t help but keep thinking on his proposal and all the things she said to him. If someone can help her get through this is her father, yet she knows this will be an uncomfortable conversation.

Regina and Henry have always had a very close relationship, unlike the one she has with her mother. Her father is an excellent listener; he is patient and waits until Regina is ready to share something with him; he doesn’t criticize her; if he needs to point out something about Regina he doesn’t rush things, asks, asks again, makes Regina answer herself, so that she is the one that at some point realizes her mistake.

Regina knows her father has always tried to make up for choosing Cora Mills as the woman with whom he decided to have a child with, and Regina is sure that if her father could change something about his own choices, that would be on the top of his list. Cora Mills is an ambitious woman, has no empathy, doesn’t listen (instead talks), disregards other people’s desires (including her own daughter’s) and projects herself (what she couldn’t achieve or what she would have liked her life to be) through her daughter’s life.

So, Regina is very much aware where to seek support or good advice if her parents are involved, and definitely, it’s not, with her mother.

As soon as she greets her father, she curses herself because there’s no easy way to tell a father what she’s about to confess: she is pregnant, is not in a relationship because she decided to have sex with a random guy she met during a wild night at a bar, and her baby will never know its father since the bastard doesn’t want to be involved in his child’s life. However, she realizes that sharing those facts is, in fact, the easy part. The most difficult one would be to admit she decided to get over what she thought was a one-sided love, by living a life with no strings, no attachments, no commitments, and no limits when she hadn’t needed to take that path at all.  Yes, that would make her look so stupid in the eyes of her father, even more than she already feels after knowing Robin proposed despite her  _ inconvenience _ .

And she has been right because, after minutes of babbling and going back and forth until she finally tells him about her situation,  she hears her father say for the first time this wasn’t the way he pictured her life to be. Shit. That did hurt.

Yet, soon her father is over any scrutiny  towards her judgment and tells her she needs to make the right choice for her baby. He wants to know the reasons that prevent her from accepting Robin’s proposal.

She tells him it seems to her an unfair situation for Robin. Her father nods and says he’ll only ask her two more questions and maybe those answers would help her make her choice. First, he asks her if Robin is aware of the baby and who the biological father is; second, he asks her if she loves Robin.

Suddenly, it all makes sense, and she knows she needs to fix things with Robin.

She calls him immediately, asks him to meet her where she and her father are having coffee, doesn’t even wait for her father to leave, and when Robin arrives she runs into his arms and whispers “I’m sorry about earlier. You’re right! Let’s do this!”

She feels in the clouds as they kiss, but has to fight the awkwardness of the moment when she realizes she is kissing her best friend, who happens to be the man she loves, for the very first time, and that this is happening in front of her father.

* * *

 

_ Present … _

She continues walking down the aisle, holding tightly to her father’s arm and blissfully in love. They reach Robin who is waiting for her at the end of the aisle. Regina watches Henry smiling at him, nodding his head like if he were saying  _ I’m giving you the most precious thing of my life,  _ and while Robin grins as his only response, she knows exactly how she’ll name her baby: if it’s a boy, it will be Henry; if it’s a girl, it will be Robin.

One way or another, her child will be named after the two people she loves most and that have proved undoubtedly their unconditional love towards her.

* * *

_**THE END** _

 


	3. Page 23

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A different approach to page 23.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Written for Day 3 of Inspired by OQ.  
> Inspired by a manip by @willow1411  
> Thanks to @BabyLawyerOQ for beta reading this story!

Robin comes to this same place every afternoon after work.

Being a thief, moreover, one who steals from the rich to give to the poor is a risky and a stressful job, and this tavern has become his safe space. It gives him some distraction, he feels safe for a few hours and doesn’t have to be watching over his shoulder to check if the Sheriff or the King have sent their men to apprehend him. The time he spends in this place is the best of his day, and he finds himself eager to accomplish his job to get to indulge, finally, with some time at the tavern.

He needs the relaxation those two or three (oh, well, yes sometimes four) pints of ale reward him with. He appreciates the company and the drunken tales he hears each time he comes. Sometimes he sees the same faces and listens to the same stories, yet he pretends to be as surprised as if this were the first time that he listens to them. Other times, he finds different people that share with him the fascinating adventures that take place in remote lands he knows he can only visit in his dreams. However, what never fails to impress him is the gossip and the way in which villagers invent a story about everything, or more accurately, about each person that comes to the tavern, and for first-timers is indeed worse.

And this isn’t different when the Queen is the one in the middle of the village’s gossip. Rumor has it that she was spotted at the tavern in the company of another woman, a young blonde, but people say the Queen never entered the tavern that day. The buzz he’s heard even dares to say that the Queen was there without the King knowing about it, because she had no guards with her and her outfit was simple, as if trying to go unnoticed.

Robin is even more surprised when he hears that the Queen came the day after, and then, two days after that, and for three weeks she has been seen frequenting the place, but these times on her own. It seems she has become a regular.

The rumors of the Queen’s attendance to the tavern tell she doesn’t interact with anyone; she stays outside, reading a book, a big one they say, and after she has finished reading, she approaches the tavern and looks through the window, as if she were searching for someone. In fact, it's an odd behavior for a woman who has been rewarded with everything in life and that happens to be married to the King.

Since the first time he heard those stories (he doesn’t know how much of the gossip is true and how much, just a product of their imagination, so to him they’re all stories until he sees her with his own eyes), he has had the desire to see her, catch a glimpse of her. He wants to know if it’s true what people say about her beauty because there’s one thing in which all people agree with: she’s the most beautiful woman in all the realms. Still, no one dares to approach her, to make an inappropriate comment or stare at her more time than would be considered polite, because they all know the woman is taken and not by any man, but by their King. So, since none of them wants a premature death they all keep their mouths shut, and their lustful thoughts to themselves.

He has come to this tavern every single day for years, but he has to admit that for some time now, three weeks to be precise, he has different reasons not to spend a day without coming, and this has to do with the rumors about the Queen being a frequent customer.

He shows every day before the sun sets in the sky, hoping to see her. However, luck has not been on his side because it has been a week, and they haven’t crossed paths yet. It seems the last times she has been there, it was in the mornings ...and he comes in the afternoons. So, he needs to make a change in his routine, and maybe begin coming earlier. He could drink less and have lunch there.

And it works because the following morning around noon he spots her in one of the tables outside the tavern. And, well, gossip hasn’t even done her justice in regard to her beauty: she’s a creature out of this world, and if he believed in heaven, she could definitely be an angel.

She has on a pearl dress; it’s simple, yet elegant. It doesn’t reveal much, but from the way it hugs her bust, waist and widens on the hips, he can tell she has a perfect body. Her dark hair is loose and falls in graceful waves over her shoulders. However, what draws his attention is the impression she gives, in between a naive young woman and a broken one, one that has been through more than what any woman of her age should, and that makes his blood boil with anger at the thought of what her duties as the wife of the King are.

He looks at her from inside the tavern. He admires her from afar, studies every movement of her hands and every expression on her face as she reads her book seated at a table. She’s on her own, just as he has heard, and drinks from a glass something that must be cider or wine and takes to her mouth, from time to time, modest amounts of dried fruits. She turns the pages of the book she’s reading gently, and he can see from where he is that the book has colorful illustrations of some places and people that seem familiar to him.

He can’t continue watching her without approaching or talking to her, and so he does. She continues reading her book, unaware of his proximity. It seems she doesn’t notice him standing by her side, or if she does she pretends not to, so he asks, “Your Majesty, may I join you?”

She jumps in her seat and quickly closes the book she has on her hands before turning to look at him.

“I apologize if I startled you, Your Majesty. That was not my intention.”

“Well, you did startle me” she begins saying, and it’s the first time he hears her voice. He is surprised because it is just as he has imagined: gentle, but at the same time determined and clear. He is about to apologize again when he hears her say, “I’m sorry I didn’t catch your name.”

“Robin of Locksley, at your service,” he says, and as he extends his hand to greet her properly, he watches the expression of surprise on her face when the sleeve of his shirt lifts and exposes the tattoo on his forearm.

It appears she notices she has kept her eyes glued to his arm more time than necessary and she says “Sorry, I ...it’s just …” but Robin doesn’t want his Queen feeling the need to apologize, moreover when he’s flattered that a woman, as refined as her, gets distracted with a drunk, in a bar, with a tattoo, so he rushes and interrupts her “Don’t worry Your Majesty, this tattoo never fails to catch the attention of the ladies.”

Is he flirting with the Queen? Being too forward? He is about to apologize for the second time, but he hears her ask with a smirk on her face, “The thief?”

“I’d say someone in charge of a better distribution of richness, Your Majesty. You know, I don't steal for my own benefit. Are you going to turn me in?” He smiles back at her as he takes a seat by her side, although he hasn’t been invited to make her company.

“I’m not on official duty here. I’m just trying to find some peace and a sense of freedom. You don’t have to worry. I won't make my husband’s job ...and I’d prefer if you call me, Regina. Just Regina.”

And that was the beginning of their friendship. Being honest, for Robin, it was much more than a mere friendship. He fell in love with the Queen, but he didn’t want to lose his head and, certainly, he didn’t want to risk hers. So, he promised himself to keep his feelings platonic, and just enjoy their time at the tavern together.

.............

As time passes Robin and Regina grow closer. They meet every day at the tavern, sometimes it’s in the mornings; other times, in the afternoon.

At some point Robin realizes he’s not the only one who has developed feelings, and that they have taken their friendship to the physical level by sharing soft touches. It’s not anything too daring, but still a physical contact with so much meaning.

He loves the way they hold hands, and when she lifts his sleeve to caress his tattoo, oh God. He was right when he told her his tattoo always did the job with the ladies. And sometimes she even dares to brush his cheek with her hands, and caress his head, intertwining her fingers with his hair. Oh, how he enjoys those touches! And when she touches him like that, he closes his eyes and falls into a slumber while she caresses him, and he has to struggle to get out of this sort of dormancy.

It doesn’t matter that they haven’t shared their feelings yet because he’s sure their love is not one-sided.

Robin enjoys her voice as she reads her book seated at the same table he approached her the first day they met. He notices she always skips up to page 23 and begins reading from there in a quiet, sweet voice only for him to hear, and the intonation she gives when she reads is delicious.

The story she reads him over and over again is the love story of a woman and a man with a lion tattoo, just like his. And, now he understands why his tattoo drew her attention since the first time she laid eyes on it.

Even though he has heard the same story more times than what would be considered healthy, they continue sharing this time. When she begins with her readout, he closes his eyes and it’s as if he were somewhere else; he hears her voice from afar in a soothing murmur, almost a lullaby, and trying to wake up is kind of difficult. It’s like he’s in some sort of trance.

One day the impossible happens. As she reads him the same story for the umpteenth time, and as he’s, as always, enjoying the slumber her voice makes him fall in, he feels her lips on his forehead, on his nose, and finally on his lips.

It's a gentle touch, delicate but with so much love he’s shocked. He feels electricity running through his body, as she continues pressing her lips to him.

He doesn’t respond. He can’t. He’s paralyzed. He wants to, but he can’t.

He only reacts by opening his eyes as if he just woke up from a very long and pleasurable dream, and there she is, looking at him with tears in her eyes that are already running on her cheeks.

But something’s wrong, terribly wrong.

She looks different. She’s not the young woman in the pearl dress he remembers being with him a few minutes ago at the tavern, but a more mature one. He notices she wears a different outfit, one he doesn’t recognize at all, and has an expression of pain, relief and happiness on her face, all at the same time ...as if it could be possible. Yet, she still impacts because of her beauty and he knows ...he feels, she’s the same woman he fell in love with at the tavern.

He observes he is no longer at the tavern. He is in a place he doesn't recognize at all and is lying down in a sort of bed with some strings attached to his chest. Oh God! And the worst is he isn’t wearing his clothes, but a short gown without any undergarments beneath, instead. This is so mortifying.

He doesn't understand why Regina doesn’t seem bothered by his lack of proper clothing and continues looking at him and caressing his cheek as if trying to be sure this is real. He sees she still has her book on her lap and has one of her fingers on the page she’s been reading: page 23.

He is about to talk, but is unable to voice a word. It seems the words refuse to leave his mouth. And his eyes must transmit the desperation of being unable to talk because he hears her say in that same voice she used to read her book, “Shhh, the doctor said it will take some time to be yourself.”

“Regina, wh-where am I?

* * *

 

When Regina noticed it, she cursed herself and made a promise to fight for him this time.

He was, without any doubt, the living evidence that every magic comes with a price as if the price she already paid hadn’t been enough. Fuck Rumple!

After she cast the Dark Curse, she had been very thorough about getting to know who she brought from the Enchanted Forest to this promising brand new Storybrooke, so that she can estimate the success of the curse.

Being the Mayor helped since she had the tools to carry out a sort of census. She needed to know if the new identities she worked so much on, had turned out to be the way she had planned.

She needed to know specifically about the infuriating Snow White and her Prince, and that’s how she came along with this John Doe, lying down unconscious in a bed at Storybrooke General Hospital.

She checked her records from before she cast the curse to try to figure out the identity of this man, but there was no one that fit his description. She thought maybe this man was just collateral damage, someone in the wrong place at the wrong time, until the day she caught a peek at his forearm and saw his tattoo.

This man was no other than her soulmate, her perfect match, the man she was destined to be with, and the man she had been so afraid to meet.

She decided this time she would not run away, and even if she didn’t know this man, she would be by his side until he woke up and maybe then she’d had the second chance that stupid fairy had said.

She came every day, sometimes after work, sometimes very early in the morning, and other times during her lunch break. In the beginning, she just kept him company, stayed by his side, talked to him.

Then, that weird book appeared in her closet, telling all those stories she knew too well because she was a character in most of them. And when she discovered his story in that book and later their story, well, the little that was written of them in the book that barely filled two pages: page 23 and 24, she had already fallen for a man she didn’t know, and one that hasn’t even talked to her.

Was it possible to love someone without knowing them, without having any interaction? Was it possible to desire to be with someone because of what a damn book tells about them?

At one point she thought she had lost her mind completely and that these feelings, emotions, and needs were just another version of the price she had to pay for casting this curse. And she cursed herself for the two healthcare professionals that came to her mind, and that might help wake this man up, give her some advice to try to see things more clearly and ease the guilt of having subjected this man to years of a comatose state. Archie Hopper got his PhD from a curse, and Victor Whale might have studied more, but was insane enough to try to resurrect his own brother (and being honest there was one time where she was as insane as Whale because she believed him that he could).

She decided to sort this out on her own. She came every day for years, she read him the same page over and over again, and sometimes even some passages of her own story. After some time, she felt the need to touch him, just hold his hand while she read, or caress his arm in the exact place where his tattoo rests.

As time passes by, nothing seemed to change with the man in the hospital bed, and she began to wonder if this man would ever wake up.

Still, she continued to visit him daily, reading him that same passage on page 23 each day she visited him. She watched him every time she read, trying to discover if, by any chance, his restful expression would change to one of vigilance, but things didn’t change, they just remained the same.

Until one day when she can’t fight the urge to kiss him. She tells herself that those kisses might help make him feel there’s someone eager for him to wake up, and so she does. She leans a little over his chest, and kisses his forehead; then, his nose and lastly his lips.

It’s a soft and gentle kiss. A slight touch of her lips on his, and, at first, it feels as if she were kissing a lifeless body (something she knows about because she did that plenty of times when her first love was killed), if it wasn’t for the warmth of his body. Then, she senses a blast of energy flowing through her body that makes her step back, and when she opens her eyes, there he is looking at her.

She watches him, struggling to say something and trying to figure out where he is. She needs to calm him, so the only thing she comes with is “Shhh, the doctor says it will take some time to be yourself.”

Then, she hears him ask where he is and she realizes she has to explain some things that will make him hate her, even before having the chance to meet her. But before Regina can reply to his question, she watches as he takes one of his hands to her cheek and while he caresses it he says “Regina, you look so different, yet you are still the same woman I fell in love with at that tavern.”

Regina doesn’t know what to say. What tavern is he talking about? They have never met, and she only replies “Have ...have we met before?”

She will have a lot of explaining to do, but she decides to put that on her to-do list for later, and just enjoy, for now, this second chance.

* * *

_**THE END** _

 


End file.
